


Back to December

by still_i_fall



Category: The Ever Afters Series - Shelby Bach
Genre: F/M, So Sorry about that, Who am I, You just wait, also a taylor swift song as a title, because i survived, but now im out of school, i hope all yall like it, in the coming weeks you will see i have a problem, it was not, so this is like a present to all of you, this is also shameless fluff, this was supposed to be posted in December for Christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 11:00:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14932973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/still_i_fall/pseuds/still_i_fall
Summary: Chase looks happy with the gift, though, and that sort of, and she’d deny it to anyone who asks, makes her happy too.-or chase and rory and christmas from ages 8 to 18





	Back to December

**Author's Note:**

> Gosh long time no see. wassup
> 
> the title is from the Taylor Swift song of the same name.
> 
> i really hope you like this cause it took me way too long 
> 
> k cool love yah
> 
> also the amazing [ Sammywatersii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammywatersii/pseuds/sammywatersii) beta ed this and is an amazing writer so pls go check them out

******Rory, Age 8**

 

Rory Landon hates Chase Turnleaf with all of her heart - well, most of her heart. His one redeeming aspect, in Rory’s eyes, was because of that one time he made Kenneth, that horribly mean fourth grader, stop bullying her best friend Lena, which was sort of nice of him. But other than that one time, Chase Turnleaf is absolutely terrible.

 

Like how he broke the crayon she was using by attempting to grab it out of her hand because he  _ needed  _ it even though she was very obviously still using it to color in her picture of the sun.

 

Or, how he always tries to talk to her while the teacher is reading to the class and she is never able to properly listen to the story because of it.

 

Admittedly, though, Rory’s not the nicest kid to him, either. After Chase had broken her crayon, she threw the pieces back at him, hitting him in the head. And more often than not, she ends up chatting with Chase when he talks to her in the middle of story time, even if the conversation starts with her saying:  _ Shut up, Chase!  _

 

That doesn’t change anything, though, and she still hates him with most of her heart.

 

But her parents for some odd reason think he’s the most charming little boy they’ve ever met. Plus - and this really takes the cookie - her parents are friends with his parents which means that Rory is always going to his family’s holiday party every year.

 

“Rory, can you give this to Chase when we get inside, please?” Her mom asks and Rory scrunches her face together in evidence of her displeasure.

 

“Can’t Dad give it to him?” she whines, unashamedly. 

 

“Rory,” her mom warns.

 

“You said I wasn’t supposed to argue with Chase and the only way I can do that is if I don’t talk to him at all,” Rory explains, her voice taking on the note of one who is well-versed in this type of argument. Her mom sighs.

 

“You’re giving the present to him, and that’s final.”

 

Rory takes the present from her mom and makes a face. It’s impossible not to argue with Chase Turnleaf; her parents should know that at this point.

 

Her dad finally joins Rory and her mom at the doorstep after parking the car. He knocks on the door and it’s almost immediately answered by the blond, curly-haired, green-eyed little boy who Rory practically hates.

 

“Hi!” he says, waving (mostly at her parents, he likes Rory about as much as she likes him). Quick footsteps sound from down the hall and second later, his mom appears.

 

“Come in, come in! Let me take your coats. So sorry about that. Chase’s not supposed to answer the door anymore, not after last year when he started turning people away. It’s so good to see you all again.” Chase’s mom, Ayalla (Rory only knows her name because her parents told it to her to keep her informed), talks fast, but her tone and smile are kind, as she leads them into the main room with the rest of the party goers.

 

Their house, Rory notes, is not nearly as large as her own, but she likes it just a bit more because of how homely it feels. It’s always warm and cozy.

 

Lots more people than Rory expected are already there for the party, contrast to what her dad had said when him and her mom got in an argument over when to leave.

 

“How are you, Rory?” Ayalla asks her, focusing the attention of the group on Rory.

 

“Good, thank you.” She wants to say something about how much better she would be if she could’ve stayed at home and watched the Christmas special on TV, but she doesn’t because she’s not sure how much her parents would like that.

 

Ayalla nods and holds out a plate of cookies she just pulled off the counter. “Take some,” she urges and Rory grabs one even though she’s not all that hungry. Chase reaches for the cookie too only to have his hand swatted away.

 

“You’ve had enough of these already,” she chides, gently. At that very moment Rory decides she likes Ayalla.

 

“Rory has a gift for you, Chase,” her mom says, motioning down at Rory.

 

Chase’s eyes lighten up and widen. “Really? Cool!”

 

Rory makes a face, “It’s not from me, it’s from-” She stops when her ever grinning dad gives her a slight shake of the head. “Here.” She thrusts the box out towards Chase with a dramatic roll of her eyes.

 

“Thanks!” he exclaims as he begins to open it only to be stopped by his mom.

 

“What?” he asks. “I said thanks and everything.”

 

“That’s for Christmas, silly,” Rory says, shaking her head. Boys can really be idiots sometimes. 

 

“It’s fine Chase, you can go ahead and open it.”

 

He does and inside he finds a box of 120 crayons. Rory’s positive that the one that he broke at school is in there.

 

It also annoys her immensely because that’s the same set she wanted, and she can’t go showing up to school with the same crayon set as Chase. She’d just look silly.

 

Chase looks happy with the gift, though, and that sort of, and she’d deny it to anyone who asks, makes her happy too.

  
  


**Chase, Age 9**

  
  


Chase Turnleaf cannot stand Rory Landon.

 

She’s incredibly annoying and no fun to play with at school. Like when she had to sit next to him in class for a month and would shush him whenever he tried to talk to her. 

 

He definitely doesn’t like it when his mom invites her over because his mom, for some strange reason, absolutely adores her.

 

Her parents are nice, though, and they always bring sweets for him when they visit. Now if they could just come over without Rory, it’d be amazing.

 

But they don’t and now Rory’s going to show up at his family’s annual holiday party and absolutely ruin it.

 

“Hey, how are you guys?” His mom asks with a smile, greeting them at the door. Chase is hiding in the kitchen, grabbing more cookies to stuff them in his mouth before his mom can see him and tell him to not to. 

 

“We’re great, thanks for having us over,” Rory’s mom says, shrugging off her coat and hanging it up.

 

Rory has a book with her, which is a bit strange since Chase has never seen her express much interest in reading before. 

 

“Chase come here and give Rory her gift,” his mom calls out to him.

 

He sighs and shoves the last of his cookie in his mouth and rest of them in his pocket. “Coming,” he replies, inserting as much petulance into his voice without his mother noticing. 

 

Chase grabs the gift box off of the kitchen table and hurries over to the group.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Hi.” Chase hands her the gift. He knows what it is, he picked it out, but he’d much rather that not be known.

 

“Chase picked-” Ayalla begins only to be cut off by Chase.

 

“No, I didn’t,” he says quickly and Ayalla rolls her eyes.

 

“Sorry, my mistake. I picked it out for you, Rory.”

 

“Thanks, I can’t wait to open it.”

 

Chase almost tells her to open her gift right now, but he decides against it as to not sound too much like he cares.

 

“Why don’t you two go upstairs and play?” his mom suggests, and, and as he’s racing Rory upstairs, he’s almost certain he hears her parents and his mom whispering about them.

 

“My parents are divorced,” Rory says as soon as they get up to his room. She’s taken a seat on his bed and is clutching the book and her present close to her chest.

 

“What?” he asks, not really fully understanding what’s she’d just said.

 

“They’re divorced. It happened over the summer. I keep meaning to tell you at school but something would always get in the way.” She looks down at the ground. “Just thought you should know,” she says, her voice low and quiet.

 

“Why are they here together then?” he asks, only sort of caring that he sounds horribly insensitive. 

 

“They’re trying to prove that they can still be friends, but it’s not really working.”

 

The two are quiet for a moment. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Chase finally says, and he really means it.

 

They sit in silence again for another minute before Chase’s eyes light up with an idea. “You should open your gift!”

 

Rory’s brows furrow in confusion. “Why? It’s not Christmas yet?”

 

Chase shakes his head and rolls his eyes (He bears quite the resemblance to Ayalla when he does so, Rory notes.). “To make you feel better. And” - he adds - “if your parents get mad at you I’ll tell them it was my idea.”

 

Rory looks as though she’s about to argue but decides against it before tearing the wrapping paper open to reveal a small box. When she opens the box she finds a bracelet with a soccer charm on it.

 

“Since you like to play soccer so much,” he says, staring at his feet. He’d seen the bracelet and the charm when he was Christmas shopping with his mom and just about forced her to buy it for Rory. 

 

“Thanks, Chase. I love it… ” And for the first time ever, Rory thinks of Chase as a friend.

  
  


**Rory, Age 10**

 

“Mom, do we have to go?” Rory asks, standing by the front door as she waits for her mom to get all of her stuff together.

 

“Yes we have to go. Ayalla invited us over for brunch and I want to go.”

 

Rory knows her mom’s word is final but she still can’t help but argue. “Why don’t you just go by yourself then?”

 

“Rory,” Her mom warns and Rory grabs her coat and follows her mom out to her car in defeat.

 

It’s not like her and Chase hate one another, not anymore, but they don’t exactly like one another, especially not enough to spend a few hours together with only their mothers as company. 

 

Don’t get her wrong, she loves Allaya like a second mother, but Allaya has a tendency to practically force Chase and Rory upon each other as though their much better friends than they actually are.

 

The drive over to Chase’s house is relatively short and they do live relatively close by. Rory’s brought a book with her, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, just in case it gets really boring but she doubts her mom will let her read it while she’s there.

 

They step out of the car and grab the platter of cookies before making their way up the front steps and to the door. “Be nice to Chase.” Her mom says, adjusting her grip on the plate full of cookies before knocking on the door.

 

“I will.” She doesn’t plan on being rude to Chase, she never does, it’s just that sometimes he’s particularly annoying and needs someone to set him in his place.

 

She doubts he’ll need that today though, and she rubs her bracelet between her thumb and forefinger, the one with with soccer charm, the one he gifted her last christmas. She stops doing so only when the front door to his house swings open and his mom, Ayalla, appears.

 

“Hello, hello.” She greets, motioning for them to step inside. “How are you two? I’m so glad you guys could make it.”

 

Rory hadn’t really noticed this before (surprising seeing how much time she does seem to spend with Chase and his mom), but Chase and his mom look remarkably alike, same blonde hair and piercing green eyes.

 

“We’re good, thanks for having us.” Her mom says, handing Rory the platter of cookies as she takes her coat off. Rory can’t help but wonder if anyone will actually eat any of the cookies seeing as her mom can’t cook at all.

 

“Why don’t you take those into the kitchen Rory.” Ayalla says and Rory slips out of her coat before complying.

 

Chase is already in the kitchen eating a piece of bacon and staring at an ipad.

 

“Hello,” Rory says and Chase looks up at her.

 

“Hey.” There’s a quick moment of silence as he sets the ipad onto the counter and turns it off, “When did you get here?” 

 

“Just a minute ago. Your mom wanted me to put these in the kitchen.” She sets the cookies down on the counter and almost immediately Chase reaches for one. 

 

“I wouldn’t eat those if I were you. My mom made them and she can’t cook to save her life. Also, I’m pretty sure she used salt instead of sugar. ” Chase, about to take a bite, lowers the cookie away from his mouth. 

 

“Thanks for the warning.”

 

“I’m glad to see my suffering helped save someone.”

 

Sometime during the last year or so, Chase and Rory found a way to get along. They’re not really friends, but they don’t fight all that much anymore, and, if necessary, they can hold a conversation.

 

“Chase, Rory, come in here so we can eat.” Allaya calls out and Chase and Rory walk out to the dining room. They take their usual seats, ignoring the two empty ones.

 

Chase’s dad has been away for as long as Rory can remember. He left when Chase was 6, but even from before then Rory doesn’t remember much of him. 

 

It’s a bit weird, though, not having her dad with them, but he’s out with his new girlfriend, Brie. Rory likes her and all, but she doesn’t see her dad nearly as much as she used too.

 

After she’s finished eating, her and Chase are told to head upstairs and play - _ How old do they think we are? _ \- and, unlike years past, they don’t race or get in any petty arguments over who gets to play with what.

 

They do, however, not seem to know how to talk.

 

“How do you like Mrs. White?” He asks after the silence becomes unbearable.

 

“She’s okay, a bit strict I guess.”

 

“Yeah.” He agrees.

 

There’s more silence and neither of them like it.

 

“This is awkward.” Rory finally says. “One of us needs to do something stupid so the other can make fun of it.”

 

“Well your life is just a series of awkward moments so…”

 

“Chase!” 

 

“I’m joking, I’m joking.”

 

More silence.

 

“Do you want to go out and play soccer?”

  
  


**Chase, Age 11**

 

“Mom, we can not go ice skating.” 

 

“Yes we can. You’ll be fine at it, don’t worry.” Ayalla says while she puts her coat on.

 

“That’s not the problem, mom.” Chase says, sighing unnecessarily loud.

 

“Then what is the problem?”

 

Chase rolls his eyes, “Everytime we go you always have to show off and you make everyone around you feel terrible.”

 

“I do not.”

 

“Yes you do.”

 

Ayalla makes a face, “Well if that’s how you feel, then I’ll just drop you and Rory and Lena off there and do some Christmas shopping.”

 

Chase grins, “Thanks mom, you’re the best.”

 

“I know.”

 

Something happened within the last year, and very suddenly, Lena, Chase and Rory became best friends.

 

None of them are sure when exactly it happened, maybe it was the group project they were assigned to do together, or the time they got lost while on a field trip to the museum, but it did happen, and they were all now the best of friends.

 

It was Lena’s idea to go ice skating and Rory (ever the klutz) had only agreed because the Zipes triplets might be there and Rory would never pass up a chance to try to get Lena with her crush.

 

Chase agreed because Rory agreed (he kind of sort of has a huge crush on her, not that she would ever notice though seeing as she’s the most oblivious person he’s ever met).

 

“If the Zipes triplets don’t show up, I will be so upset.” Rory says, accepting Chase’s hand as he helps her up as she has fallen almost immediately after her feet hit the ice.

 

“That’s their car right there.” Chase says, letting go of her hand and pointing to a blue van in the parking lot. Rory grins while sticking her arms out awkwardly in an attempt to balance herself.

 

“Where did Lena go, she was just with us a second ago?” She asks, glancing around her and Chase (and almost falling over once more) but not seeing her other best friend.

 

“She went to go grab new skates since hers were too small.” Chase explains, grabbing Rory suddenly to keep her from falling down as an incredibly fast kid whizzes by them.

 

Rory breathes a sigh of relief, “Okay, good.”

 

Chase skates over to the entrance pulling Rory along with them so that they could meet Kyle and his brothers when they got in. Rory very nearly squeals when she spots Lena and Kyle walking over together behind the other two Zipes brothers.

 

“Hey,” Chase calls out and Lena and Kyle wave.

 

“Look who I found.” Lena says, gesturing over at Kyle as his brothers lace up their skates and step onto the rink, very quickly going out to race one another and almost knocking over a very excited looking Rory.

 

“Hi guys,” Kyle greets as he sits down on a bench and begins to lace up his own skates. Lena sits down next to him and very soon they are both on the ice next to Rory and Chase.

 

“We should probably get out of the way.” Lena says, and Rory makes some sort of noise of disapproval as they start to move.

 

“What?” Lena asks and Chase lets out a laugh.

 

“Rory can’t skate to save her life.” Chase says and Rory hits him on the arm, almost falling in the process.

 

“I can too!” She further disproves her point by falling as soon as Chase let’s go of her, “Fine, I can’t skate.”

 

Lena rolls her eyes and grabs one of Rory’s arms and Chase grabs the other. Together, they pull her up and away from the entrance with Kyle following behind, shaking his head but laughing nonetheless.

 

“You guys are so weird.”

  
  


**Rory, Age 12**

 

Rory, for the first time in her life, is excited to go to Chase’s holiday party.

 

She hasn’t seen Ayalla in what feels like forever, being busy with school and all. So it’s a relief to be on break and to just go to the holiday party.

 

She’s the only one out of her friend group going since Lena is with family in Milwaukee and Kyle is on vacation, but she still thinks that it’s going to be fun.

 

“Put these on the counter when we get inside please.” Her mom says, handing her a covered dish with brownies inside. She should be almost certain they’re safe to eat since she saw her mom make them with the box mix, but she can’t be absolutely sure.

 

The door swings open and Chase answers it, welcoming them inside with a flourish of his arm.

 

“Hello.” She says, smiling as she hands Chase the dish of brownies as she shrugs out of her coat. “Where’s your mom?”

 

“Talking to some other guests in the dining room. There’s more people than usual this year, and she’s really busy.”

 

Rory nods her head as she reaches for the dish.

 

“What’s in there?”

 

“Brownies,” She answers as she makes her way towards the kitchen. Chase follows behind her and lift up the foil covering them.

 

“Are they any good?”

 

Rory turns to him, brows furrowed, “How would I know, I’ve avoided eating my moms cooking for years.”

 

Chase lets out a laugh and she quickly joins it. They set the dish down on the counter with the other food and Rory grabs a cookie as they’re heading out.

 

“Should we go upstairs?” Chase suggests since everytime she goes to his house for the holiday party they always end up in his room playing some game.

 

“No, I want to say hi to your mom first.” She says, and they weave in and out of people as they walk into the dining room.

 

Chase rolls his eyes as he follows her, “Why, you saw her just last week?”

 

Rory shakes her head, “No I didn’t. I was sick, remember. You got me sick because you kept coughing on me in math.”

 

Chase grins, “You have no proof that it was me who got you sick.”

 

Rory spots Ayalla in the corner of the dining room talking to one of the guests who Rory doesn’t know the name of. They make their way over, apologizing as they nudge past people.

 

“Hello Ayalla.” Rory says and Ayalla’s face breaks out in a grin.

 

“Hi Rory, how are you?” She asks, pulling Rory in for a tight hug. 

 

Rory smiles, “Good. And you?”

 

“Same.” 

 

The man Ayalla was previously talking to before Rory and Chase interrupted seems to be growing impatient so Rory and Chase leave with a wave and head upstairs.

 

“What did you get me this year?” Chase asks as they climb the staircase to get upstairs.

 

Rory rolls her eyes, “I can’t tell you.”

 

“Yes you can.”

 

“No I can’t.”

 

“I’ll tell you what I got you.”

 

Rory sighs, “I don’t care what you got me.”

 

“I got you a new soccer ball since you popped your old one. Now it’s your turn.” They open the door to his room and he immediately throws himself onto his bed while Rory sits down at his desk.

 

“Ugh, fine. I got you a new phone case and a 49ers hat since you like them so much.”

 

Chase grins victoriously, obviously not really caring much about what Rory got him.

 

“You do this every year. When are you going to learn that Christmas gifts are meant to be opened on Christmas.”

 

“Never.” 

 

Rory rolls her eyes for what feels like the hundredth time of the night and snaps a picture of Chase laying on his bed to send to the group chat.

 

_ RL: HELP ME HE’S SO DRAMATIC! _

 

“I saw that message Rory.” Chase says, holding up his own phone and Rory grins.

 

_ CT: ignore her she’s just upset cause I got her to tell me what she got me for xmas _

 

_ RL: am not! _

 

_ CT: r 2 _

 

_ LL: you two are sitting in the same room. Talk to one another IN PERSON like NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS _

 

Rory sighs loudly and turns her phone off motioning for Chase to do the same.

 

“You can’t make me.”

 

Rory grins widely before jumping on the bed to pry the phone from his grasp. He doesn’t see it coming and she has the phone in her hands within seconds.

 

“Who’s victorious now?” She says, jumping up to stand on the bed and loom over him.

 

He’s trying to fake looking upset, but he can’t seem to hide the ever growing grin on his face. He reaches for her ankle and pulls and she collapses in a heap on his bed, right next to him.

 

They’re all smiles and laughs and Rory couldn’t wish for a better bestfriend.

  
  


**Chase, Age 13**

 

Chase has been over to Rory’s house plenty of times, but never for a holiday party. This is mostly because his mom always hosts them, but this year their house it under renovation because his mom wanted new flooring in the kitchen.

 

Her house is bigger than his, which annoyed him endlessly when they were kids, but doesn’t seem to bother him much anymore. 

 

They get there at noon to help set up since his mom and her mom are co-hosting.

 

“Chase, can you move that couch so that it’s against that wall over there I’m afraid people might run into it too much.” She points at it and he nods. “Thank you.”

 

Rory’s in the kitchen making some sort of drink for the party and Chase wishes he could be in there with her..

 

It’s incredibly boring out in the living room, moving things around as they prepare for the holiday party, but it would at least be a little less boring if he could be hanging out with Rory.

 

Her mom must notice his immense boredom because she gives him a light smile and says, “Chase, why don’t you go and help Rory in the kitchen.” He grins and jogs into the kitchen to help Rory.

 

“Hey,” He calls out to her and she smiles.

 

“Hi.” She greets brightly, “I was hoping you’d come in here, it was getting a little boring.” She stirs the punch a few times before nodding her head over towards the fridge, “Open the door to the fridge please,” She says, lifting up the heavy bowl and walking towards the fridge.

 

Chase opens the fridge door for her, moving some stuff around quickly to ensure that the punch bowl will fit before stepping out of the way.

 

“Thanks,” Rory says, closing the fridge door and going over to the counter to sit down on one of the stools. 

 

“We should probably go and ask your mom if there’s anything we can do to help out.” Chase says, still standing up next to Rory while she sits on the stool.

 

Rory makes a face but stands up nonetheless, “I guess.”

 

Chase laughs and they walk, slowly, to the living area where their moms are.

 

“Anything we can do to help out?” Rory asks as they enter the room.

 

Her mom turns around to face them and smiles at the sight of them, “No, we’re good for now in here. I guess you two could wait in the front room for the caterer if you wanted to, but besides that, we’re good.”

 

Rory smiles and nods and motions for Chase to follow her up to her room.

 

“They finished up much quicker than they thought they would. My mom was worried it would take too long and we wouldn’t finish in time.” 

 

They sit down on her bed next to each other because her desk chair has a bunch of stuff on it and they’re both too lazy to move it (there’s also another chair in one corner of her room and a mini couch in the a different one, but he sorta wants to sit next to her).

 

“Did you get me anything for Christmas?” Chase asks and Rory rolls her eyes.

 

“Maybe. I’m not telling you like last year, though.” She says, scooting away from him and making a face.

 

“Well maybe I don’t want to know.” (He does want to know, but that’s besides the point.)

 

“Yes you do.”

 

“No I don’t.”

 

“C’mon Chase, I’m your best friend, I know when you’re lying.” (She totally does, which upsets him just a bit.)

 

“I don’t need to know.” He says with some sort of certainty in his voice.

 

Rory grins, “Good.”

 

Chase isn’t even all that upset that Rory won (even if it means that he lost).

  
  


**Rory, Age 14**

 

Right now, she refuses to talk to Chase. 

 

It’s his fault for getting so jealous over the fact that some random dude that she barely knows asked her out. He always does this when some guy talks to her school or at the mall and it’s  _ so  _ annoying.

 

It’s like he doesn’t understand that she does of guy friends other than him and Kyle.

 

And, she didn’t even say yes to the guy that asked her out, so he had no right to be nearly as jealous as he was. It’s not like her and Chase are dating or anything, they’re just best friends.

 

Plus, she can’t really talk to him in person because she’s in LA instead of San Francisco this break with her dad sinceher baby sister, Dani, was just born in May and she hasn’t gotten a proper chance to meet her yet.

 

She hates to admit it, but she misses him, because he is her best friend and she likes to talk to him and she can’t talk to him if she’s upset with him.

 

Dani’s in her room, asleep for now, and Brie and her dad are watching a movie in another room. They invited her to join them but she turned them down saying that she’d already seen the movie and was tired.

 

She ignored the hurt look on her dad’s face and retreated into her room for some quiet not at all tired, and having never seen the movie.

 

But she needed to be alone with her thoughts, because, now that she’s able to think about it, the only time in San Fransisco when she’s ever truly alone is when she’s sleeping.

 

But then he texts her and any sort of peace she’d achieved is thrown out the window (and she doesn’t really mind).

 

_ CT: im srry _

 

_ CT: i shouldnt have been so rude to him _

 

_ CT: idk what happened to me _

 

Rory smiles a little and almost immediately texts him back.

 

_ RL: ur fine _

 

_ RL: i overreacted too _

 

He sends her a smiley face emoji and she responds with her own before saying goodnight and telling him they could talk tomorrow.

 

She’s not tired, though, so she opens the door to her bedroom and quietly (Dani is still sleeping) makes her down the hallway into the living room where her dad and Brie are sitting on the couch.

 

“Can I join you guys?”

  
  


**Chase, Age 15**

 

Lena and Kyle are late. 

 

“It’s not like them to be this late,” Rory says, tearing off a bit of her chocolate croissant placing it in her mouth. “Maybe they got lost.”

 

Chase rolls his eyes and takes a piece of the croissant for himself, “They’ve been her before multiple times, Rory, so I doubt they got lost. They probably just lost track of time searching for the perfect gift for me.”

 

Rory hits him on the arm lightly (mostly to prove that she’s willing to hit him in a public space), and pulls the plate with the croissant on it away from him, “They’d obviously be buying me a present and not you,” She argues and Chase grins as he reaches across her to steal another piece of her croissant. 

 

“Stop it,” She whines and Chase laughs before offering her a bit of his blueberry muffin.

 

In the booth behind them a woman stands up, grinning as she pushes in her chair, “I just wanted to tell you two that you are the cutest couple I have ever seen.”

 

Rory’s eyes widen slowly as she furiously shakes her head, “Oh no, we’re not-”

 

Chase nods his agreement as he mirrors her body language, “A couple.”

 

The woman smiles knowingly, “My mistake.”

 

As soon as she’s out of sight, Rory and Chase burst out laughing, large grins erupting on both of their faces.

 

“Some people.” Chase says, catching his breath and Rory rolls her eyes.

 

“Yep.” 

 

They sit in silence for a moment, nibbling on their pastries and avoiding awkward eye contact as they wait for Lena and Kyle to arrive.

 

“There they are,” Rory calls out, standing up so they can properly see her. She waves at the both of them and they make their way towards them.

 

“Hey.”

 

Chase shakes his head in mock disappointment, “You two are late.”

 

Lena rolls her eyes, “10 minutes, barely late.”

 

Chases makes a face and throws another piece of Rory’s croissant (nearly the last piece) into his mouth.

 

Kyle shakes his head at Chase’s behavior and stands up once more, “What about I go buy you another croissant to make it up to you.” He says and Rory shakes her head profusely. 

 

“Uh uh. That’s MY croissant he’s eating. If anyone deserves another one, it’s me.”

 

Kyle sighs and pushes in his chair, “You guys can share.”

 

Rory and Chase both make a face as Lena rolls her eyes at them, “You two are terrible.”

 

Rory grins, “You would not believe what happened believe what happened before you got her.” 

 

Chase’s eyes widen as he nods, “It was pretty unbelievable.”

 

It’s not really. They’re best friends and so incredibly comfortable with one another, it was just a matter of time before some mistook them for a couple. But Rory seems to deny it so feverently, to be so against it.

 

Lena doesn’t seem to think it’s all that unbelievable either.

 

“Someone mistook you two for a couple.” She guesses and Rory gasps.

 

“Who told you.” 

 

Lena rolls her eyes, “No one, I just know.”

  
  


**Rory, Age 16**

 

“So we’re dating.” They’ve been dating for months now, she knows that, he (hopefully) knows that, everyone knows it. It’s not really a question, the way she says it, but the beginning of a sentence.

 

Chase tears his gaze away from his phone to look at her with raised eyebrows, “I believe so, yes.” 

 

She makes a face at him and he responds with a scrunched up nose and upturned lip that she can’t help but sorta laugh at.

 

Rory takes a deep breath and licks her lips nervously, “What do you want for Christmas?” She asks, words all spilling out in one breath.

 

They’ve known each other since they were little, this shouldn’t be so hard for her, but this Christmas feels different, more important. This is their first Christmas as Chase  _ and  _ Rory, it feels special.

 

But then he laughs, “Nothing, don’t worry about it.” Before turning his attention back to his phone, as though he doesn’t actually want anything, even though she knows he wants  _ something _ .

 

“You must want something.” She says, pulling his phone out of his hand (he was on Instagram, per usual) and turning it off, “Anything. I’ll feel bad if I get you socks or a phone case again.” She’s gotten him either a clothing item of some sort or a phone case (or a combination of the two of them when she bought him a phone case that looked like a sock), for the past four years and she  _ needs  _ to get him something different, something that he wants.

 

Chase rolls his eyes, “I’m fine, honestly. You don’t need to get me anything.”

 

“Ugh, you are no help whatsoever.” Rory throws his phone at him and stomps out of the room and downstairs to where their moms are talking in the kitchen. 

 

She almost falls on the way down the staircase into the kitchen in all of her anger and frustration. 

 

She walks towards their moms in the kitchen, her nose scrunched up and eyes thin, and they stop talking as she approaches, choosing instead to laugh at her stomps into the room.

 

“What does Chase want for Christmas?”

 

The mom’s both laugh.

 

“Stop it!” She whines, “He won’t tell me what he wants.”

 

“You don’t need to get him anything, Rory,” Ayalla says, laughing still.

 

“Yes I do.” They must hear some sort of desperation in her voice because they stop laughing.

 

His mom thinks for a moment, “He needs a hat, his ears are always cold and he likes the 49ers, so you could get him a 49ers hat.” She offers and Rory nods. She chooses not to tell Ayalla that she bought him a 49ers hat a few years but then promptly stole it from it as soon as he complained about hat hair.

 

“Thanks,” She says and Ayalla nods.

 

“Of course.”

 

She goes back upstairs (more quietly this time) and back to Chase's room.

 

“Give up finally?” He asks, throwing his own phone onto his pillow from his spot at the edge of his bed to show her that she has his full attention.

 

“Never.”

 

He laughs and gives her some sort of awkward half hug as he tries to tickle her. 

 

Okay, fine, she doesn’t  _ have  _ to get him some sort of special present, but she still  _ wants  _ to.

 

So, later on that day, when she’s back in her own home, she spends way too much money and buys him two tickets to a 49ers game. She imagines that they’ll go together, and that it’ll be cold (for San Francisco at least), but they’ll still have a lot of fun.

 

She really hopes he likes the gift.

  
  


**Chase, Age 17**

 

Chase loves Dani almost as much as Rory.

 

She’s three now, but still tiny as cute and sweet. She has curly red hair that looks nothing like Rory’s, but she does have Rory’s large hazel eyes.

 

Rory’s dad is visiting for the holidays with Rory’s step-mother, Brie. They’re staying at a rental house even though Rory’s mom offered to let them stay with her, much to Rory’s annoyance.

 

“They could save money and spend more time with me, his eldest daughter, by staying with my mother. It wouldn’t even be all that awkward.”

 

Chase raised his eyebrows, “Fine, it would be a little awkward.”

 

Rory absolutely adores Dani, so when her dad asked her to go out and take her to see Santa at the mall she couldn't say no.

 

Chase bounces Dani on his hip as he adjusts his hold on her. 

 

“Don’t drop her, Chase.” Rory says to him, playing with Dani’s hair from her place next to him.

 

“I won’t.”

 

Dani glances between the two of them before laughing, seemingly at them. Chase makes a face at her and she pulls on his nose, much to Rory’s enjoyment.

 

“She’s not too heavy, right? I really think we should have brought the stroller.”

 

Chase rolls his eyes, as her flares his nostrils at Dani in an attempt to make her laugh, “It’s fine, she barely weighs anything.”

 

They continue on towards the Santa area where there’s already a long line of kids and parents waiting.

 

“I remember when I was younger I cried for almost a week after I saw my parents wrapping presents on Christmas Eve.” Rory says as they take their place in the line for pictures with Santa.

 

“A week?”

 

“I was traumatized.”

 

Chase laughs, “My cousin Fael told me when I was five.”

 

Rory gasped, “He did not.”

 

“He did.”

 

“Just gives me another reason to hate him.”

 

Chase swears he falls even more in love with her.

  
  


**Rory, Age 18**

 

Rory Landon is madly in love with Chase Turnleaf. 

 

She’s at his holiday party, resting her head against his shoulder, relaxing upstairs away from all of the party and all of the people who all seem to want to know what exactly it is she wants to do with her life.

 

“This is our last Christmas before college.” Chase says, reminding the both of them that they’ve grown up, “Sort of our last Christmas as children.”

 

She nods, “Yeah.” Comfortable silence, “Are you worried?”

 

“Kind of.”

 

“So am I.” 

 

They’re going to the same college, UC Berkeley, they’re still going to be together, they’re still going to be near the places where they grew up, but still, everything is changing.

 

Lena’s going away, far away, all the way to New York, to Columbia and Kyle will be near her at NYU. They’re both interested in studying science, becoming doctors or inventors or engineers.

 

They both have their life figured out, unlike her, who doesn’t know what she wants to be, who she wants to become.

 

And soon, they won’t be in highschool anymore. They won’t be surrounded by the people who they’ve grown up with, the people who are just as clueless as them as to what they want to become.

 

They’ve grown up so much, though. No longer are they children who fight over yellow crayons and get into petty arguments.

 

They’re adults.

 

And that’s scary, but satisfying in it’s own way.

 

“I have a present for you.” He says suddenly, standing up and drawing Rory away from her own thoughts.

 

“But it’s not Christmas yet.” She says, sitting up and following him with her eyes as he reaches up on a shelf and pulls down a small, wrapped box. “I can’t open it.”

 

“Just this once.”

 

This isn’t the first time he’s told her to open a present early.

 

But she looks between him and the wrapped box before sighing rather loudly and taking it from him, “Just this once.”

 

She tears apart the wrapping paper to reveal a jewelry box. 

 

“Open it.” He urges and she smiles before gently opening the box to discover a a dainty glass vial necklace. 

 

She takes it out of the box and hold it out to him, “Could you help me put it on?” Rory imagines herself trying to put on the necklace alone and smiles a little wider.

 

He nods, “Do you like it? I saw and thought of you.”

 

Rory lets out a laugh, “You are so cheesy sometimes, but yeah... I love it.”

 

He smiles and clips the necklace together, pressing a kiss to her cheek, before sitting back to admire her, “Merry Christmas Rory.”

 

“Merry Christmas.”

 

Rory Landon loves Chase Turnleaf with all of her heart, and there’s nothing anyone can do to change that.

**Author's Note:**

> well gosh was that a mess it felt like a mess
> 
> still pls comment and tell me about how bad that was pls and thnk


End file.
